


Mind Readers

by ChocolateKid



Series: Tumblr Prompts [7]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Flirting, Happy Ending, Hurt, Light Angst, M/M, Mind Reader Dean, Tumblr Prompt, Unrequited Crush, which is actually requited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-23 02:36:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21312769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateKid/pseuds/ChocolateKid
Summary: Charlie is convinced that mind readers are real.Castiel isn't so sure, but then he finds out that his crush is one of them.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: Tumblr Prompts [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/632102
Comments: 6
Kudos: 135





	Mind Readers

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> I'm back, I guess! I know I haven't posted in a while and I probably won't post a lot after this one either because I simply don't have the time, but I thought I'd share this one with you, since it's just been sitting in my drafts. I originally wanted to write the sequel as well before posting, but I didn't find the time to write it yet, so I decided to post it now.  
The story is based on a prompt I read somewhere, but I can't remember where I put it, so I can't quote it. You probably know it though.
> 
> On another note, I might go back to my previous stories and edit them, since I can't really find the time to write new ones and I know that most of my old fics could be improved a lot. I might even change the POV in most of them because I prefer third person now and most of my works are in first person. Like I said, I might do it, but I don't know when I'll find the time and motivation hahah.
> 
> I hope you like this one!

"I'm _telling_ you, Castiel, mind readers are real," Charlie assured Castiel, eyes gleaming excitedly.

"Sure, Charles," he replied, not even looking up from his work. There was no such thing as mind readers, everybody knew that. And just because Charlie had 'the ultimate proof,' there was no reason to believe her. It was _Charlie_ after all -- no offense.

"Cas! You're not even listening," she complained, and Castiel glanced up at her defeatedly. She had a pout on her face and her arms were crossed.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked, a pen in hand. "How can there be mind readers and nobody knows about them, huh?"

"_I_ know about them!" Charlie cried.

"I'm talking about the general public, not just you."

Charlie scoffed in annoyance. "The general public doesn't know everything. And you don't know that I'm wrong. Fact is, I screamed really loud in my head and the girl in front of me covered her ears. I swear she was a mind reader, Cas!"

"Yeah, or maybe she was just cold."

"You know what? Fine. Don't believe me," she pouted and sat down across from him in defeat. "But don't come crying to me when you do figure out it's true."

"Alright, Charles," was all Castiel said.

* * *

Math was Castiel's favorite class.

And no, he was not being sarcastic.

Math actually _was_ his favorite class, but it surely wasn't because of the subject itself. It was more the fact that a certain individual who attended this class always took the opportunity to talk to him for a while that made it great.

"Hey Cas," Dean greeted and sat down in the seat in front of him.

_Speak of the devil._

"Hello Dean," Castiel answered, a bright smile spreading on my face. His crush was so painfully obvious. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Dean replied. "I've been working on my car a lot lately, so I'm as happy as they come," he announced, grinning. Immediately, Castiel was bombarded with pictures of Dean underneath his car, shirtless and covered in dirt, hair sticking up with sweat and grease. It was embarrassingly sexy, and Castiel gulped visibly.

_Fuck_.

Dean slowly smirked at him, a knowing look on his face, and Castiel blinked. He'd taken too long to answer, he realized.

"That's... that's great," Castiel replied half-heartedly. Before he could add any more, Mister Singer had entered the room, catching everyone's attention.

Well, everyone's except Castiel's, of course. He was still busy admiring Dean from behind, watching his every move as always. It was just that he was such a genuinely nice person; he was funny and good-hearted, helpful and hot as fuck. Not that Castiel would ever tell him that.

He remembered all the little things Dean had done for him, like lending him stuff, somehow instinctively knowing when he'd need something -- and if it was a pencil. Not even a word would leave Castiel's mouth and Dean would just know. He would turn around, graze him with a gentle, amused smile and simply hold out his pencil for Castiel to take.

Maybe it was stupid to get flustered over something insignificant like that, but Castiel couldn't exactly help it.

_Thinking about pencils, where is mine again?_ he thought, realizing that once again he'd forgotten it at home.

"Here," Dean whispered right on cue, turning back to him and handing him a pencil.

Castiel smiled, "Thank you, Dean." And once again he was on cloud nine.

When Dean had turned around again, Castiel couldn't suppress the chuckle, thinking to himself, _It's almost as if he can read my mind, right, Charlie?_

And that was when he saw Dean tense almost imperceptibly.

_Wait, that was weird. Is he__..._ Castiel thought. _No, of course not. There is no such thing as mind readers. Right?_

He refused to believe it. It was irrational and stupid and oh god, how catastrophic would it be if Dean really _was_ able to read minds, especially his? He would die for sure. That'd mean Dean knew all about his crush on him, the patheticness of his pining and the idiotic happiness he felt whenever Dean as much as glanced at him.

There was no way.

Dean rolled his shoulders in front of him.

_But I need to be sure,_ Castiel thought and then he _screamed_ in his head as loud as he could for as long as he could and nearly got a heart-attack when Dean visibly flinched and glanced back at him for just the fraction of a second.

_Oh shit,_ Castiel managed. _Ohhh shit. Fuck, okay, Dean's a mind reader. Dean's a fucking mind reader. And I've been crushing on him for ages, oh god, that's so embarrassing. Fuck, don't think about your crush, he can hear everything you're thinking! Think of cute little kittens and your family and your thirteenth birthday, but _**_do not think about your crush_**_! Oh, god fucking damn it._

Dean had gone rigid in front of him, an unreadable expression on his face, and Castiel could practically see the unease soaking through his clothes.

_I think I'm gonna be sick,_ he realized, standing up without thinking.

"I feel sick, Mr. Singer, may I be excused?" Castiel asked, already hurrying towards the door. All Mr. Singer could do was nod in surprise and then he was gone, speed-walking to the bathroom.

Oh man, this couldn't be true, Castiel tried to convince himself. Mind readers, that's crazy! But he saw what he saw, and it explained so much. Dean's knowing smirks whenever he thought indecent things about him, the way he always knew just what to say, the _pencils_ even... It was crazy. But it made sense.

_So you've fallen for a mind reader and he doesn't like you back__,_ Castiel's mind painfully provided as he broke down on the bathroom floor, closing his eyes in exhaustion as he propped himself up against the wall. _'__Cause let's be real, he knew all along. If he liked you back, he would've said something._

The pain of rejection was almost worse than the shock of the realization that nobody's mind had ever truly been their own. Because who cared about stuff like that when Dean Winchester didn't like him back! There were times when he'd really believed he might...

_Who are you kidding, he never liked you_, his mind supplied helpfully. _It's obvious._

"That's not true," a familiar voice said, and Castiel looked up, startled. Just like he'd feared, it was Dean, standing in the doorway and looking down at him.

_Great_, he thought sarcastically.

He turned his head to stare at the wall, not replying to Dean's words. It was all lies anyway.

"I'm not lying," Dean insisted, kneeling down in front of him and trying to catch his eye, but Castiel refused. "I do like you..."

_Yeah right, a__sshole,_ Castiel thought. _Stop pitying me. __If you really liked me, you would have told me._

"I..." Dean stuttered. "I was going to, I swear."

_Sure you were__,_ Castiel scoffed silently. God, he was so pissed. If at himself or at Dean, he didn't really know. He looked Dean straight in the eye. _Excuse me if I don't believe you._

"I..." Dean supplied again, a pained expression in his eyes. "I don't--" he stuttered, not knowing what to say. Then, a defeated expression spread on his face.

"Okay, you know what? You're right, I wasn't gonna tell you. But it doesn't have anything to do with you or my feelings for you," Dean said firmly, holding Castiel's eye defiantly. "Truth is, being a mind reader sucks. And being in relationships while you're able to hear everything the other's thinking about you, sucks even worse."

Castiel didn't know what to say so he stayed silent, waiting for Dean to continue. Dean set his jaw, hesitating, and then slowly started talking again.

"I was with this girl for a while, Lisa. She was great, you know, a really sweet girl and all, but sometimes, when we'd have a fight or when she got frustrated with school, I could hear everything she was thinking, about how annoying I was at that moment or what an asshole I was for not doing something, about how she didn't like my new haircut, and I don't know what else! She never said a _word_, but I heard it all. Every little thing that bothered her about me, I knew. Even though she never mentioned any of it. Needless to say, I couldn't stand it for long. So excuse me if I prefer being crushed on without getting too close and consequently hearing the hurtful things the guy I like might think of me later," Dean finished, breathing heavily, that pained look still in his eyes.

He grabbed for Castiel's hand hesitantly. Castiel let it happen.

Castiel didn't know what to reply at first. Then, silently, he started speaking. "So just because you were scared, you decided it was fine to nurse the crush I had on you, even though you never intended to act on it? To... to let me hope for something more without the chance of ever achieving it? That's cruel, Dean. If you had stayed away, I would've understood. But _knowing_ and _enforcing_ it without-- That's just _cruel_."

"I know," Dean said desperately and looked down at the floor, obviously ashamed of himself. His fingers tightened around Castiel's hand. "I know, okay? What I did was wrong, but... But the thought of seeing you with somebody else, hearing you think all those sweet things about someone that wasn't me, I just... I couldn't. It hurt too much. I'm sorry..."

"It's nice to know you're _sorry_, Dean," Castiel snapped, finally pulling his hand away. "But that doesn't change our situation. You still did what you did!"

"I know. I know, I screwed up, I'm sorry," Dean repeated, choking slightly, not daring to look at him, and Castiel knew that if Dean turned his head towards him, he'd see the tears in his eyes that he was trying to hide. "I'm sorry," Dean whispered. And even though Castiel was still mad and not exactly ready to forgive him right now, he couldn't help but hurt for him. His anger dissipated slowly.

"Oh great," he muttered to himself. _Now what?_

He looked at Dean kneeling in front of him, head hanging low, hands tucked between his thighs from when Castiel had abandoned his grip. He looked heart-breakingly pathetic. Castiel sighed.

"You have two options," he began defeatedly, successfully gaining Dean's attention, who looked up at him with puffy red eyes. "Either you stop lending me stuff, making me compliments and being sweet to me in general, so I can get over your stupid face..." Castiel's heart tightened even at the possibility of not having Dean near him anymore, but he knew it was probably for the best. Dean's lower lip started quivering. Castiel averted his gaze. "Or..." he continued with option two. "You get your shit together and ask me out like a real man before I change my mind, to at least _try_ and date me before damning it all to hell. I'll let you decide," Castiel concluded, getting up before Dean could even gather his words, and left the bathroom like a motherfucker.

* * *

"Told you mind readers were real," Charlie said, shrugging when Castiel told her about it the next day. "But you wouldn't believe me."

"Yeah, well, I believe you now..." he grumbled, poking a piece of lettuce with his fork but not eating it. "Mind readers suck."

"True, it's such an invasion of privacy," Charlie complained.

"Not really what I was going for, Charlie."

He was magically ignored.

"Would've never thought Dean was one of them though. I was convinced he'd have made a move on you if he was," she kept talking, hitting Castiel's feelings like a freight train at 100 miles per hour. "Oh, right, sorry," she apologized when she saw the look on his face. "That was inappro--"

She stopped all of a sudden, eyes widening and staring at something behind him. "Oh dear," she muttered in disbelief and then a smile was tugging at her lips. Castiel turned around.

And there he was, Dean Winchester, face as red as a tomato, as he searched his gaze nervously and asked, "Castiel Novak, will you go out with me?"

Castiel couldn't help but smile.


End file.
